Dreams Of A Childhood That Never Was
by TheMeanGreenThing
Summary: Potential collection of one-shots pertaining to Elphaba's childhood with Shell. Shell and Elphaba climb a tree together!
1. Chapter 1

**I've been quite disappointed in the lack of involvement Shell has in Wicked fics, and I've had some ideas floating around in my head, so I decided to create a one-shot of when he and Elphaba were younger. If I get inspired, or people throw ideas my way, I'll make it into a collection of one-shots of their childhood.**

It was a warm summer's afternoon. The kind where the gentle breeze and sun's rays make eyes droop and smiles abundant. The grass gently swayed, and the trees whispered secrets unknown to man. Even the usually cold and forlorn palace seemed kinder on this afternoon. The horses nickered softly while they grazed nearby the stables.

All was quiet and peaceful on the Cowlen Grounds. That is, until the laughter began. At first it was only a young boy's laugh. The grazing stallion looked up at the sound and tossed it's mane, letting out a gentle whinny. The other two horses looked up as well when a girl's laugh joined the boy's.

The jubilant sounds came from one of the trees, where two children were climbing and playing. The boy had curly light brown hair, pale skin, and green eyes that shone with curiosity. He had turned six mere days previous. The girl had raven black hair that fell to her waist in a braid. She had dark, calculating, chocolate eyes, and strange green skin. She was no older than thirteen.

"Do it again Fabala!" The boy exclaimed excitedly from a branch. "Alright, alright! But this is the last time, little brother!" The girl conceded. A squeal of delight came from the boy as the girl flipped herself upside down and hung by her legs off of the branch she was on. She made a monkey face at him, and even did her best impersonation of one. The boy took quite a lot of glee in it, and nearly fell off of his branch laughing.

"Shell, if I am going to be doing this, you must be careful!" The girl admonished while hanging upside down and smiling. She was aware that she wasn't being the best of examples in this situation.

"Sorry sis. Let's race up the tree!" Shell chirped as he started climbing the tall tree. "Hey! No fair!" Elphaba whined as she scrambled to get upright again. Shell just laughed down at her and kept climbing.

Soon enough though, the elder passed her brother. She made sure to feign fatigue shortly before the end so that the boy could win.

"Hah! I beat you." Shell was absolutely triumphant. Elphaba raised her hands in surrender. "I can't compete with such tree climbing skill! I will admit that you won, mostly fair and square! But if I had been ready, well little brother, it would have been me doing the victory dance."

Shell laughed at his sister. "Nuh uh! I'm the best tree climber around!" He grinned smugly. The sight caused Elphaba to chuckle. "Fabala," the boy started, suddenly serious. "Why do all the kids at school say you're bad?"

Elphaba's eyes darkened and she looked away. "I don't know Shell..." She mumbled. "Well, I think they're big dummies. You're a very good person Fabala. You like wrestling, tag, and climbing trees. And your skin looks cool even if it makes it so you can't ever go swimming. Plus you're the best big sister ever. Nessa isn't half as fun as you." Shell hugged a surprised Elphaba. Tears pricked her eyes as she hugged her brother tightly.

"I love you shell. Don't ever forget that." She whispered. "I love you too Fabala." Shell chirped.


	2. Chapter 2

I had another idea! I really love the concept of this story, so I'll likely put a few more chapters into it. If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to let me know! I'm posting this via phone, so I apologize if there is weird spacing.

X

It was another one of those warm summer days. Only this time, there was no laughter or tree climbing. The children were sitting in the grassy meadow behind the palace.

"Father promised to take me to the river today to continue our swimming lessons, but he's too busy again. He's talking to those holy guys he always has meetings with." Shell pouted.

"I'm sorry Shell, perhaps he'll be able to take you another day." Elphaba said. "But Fabala, I want to go today!" The boy whined. He sat quiet for a few moments. Then, he brightened. "Hey, Fabala, YOU could take me!" He said, growing excited.

"Shell, you know I can't do that. Or have you forgotten that water burns me?" Elphaba replied. "But Fabala please! You could just watch from the

bank while I swim in the shallows. Please, 'Bala?" Shell practically begged

his sister.

Elphaba regarded him carefully. Seeing the hope causing his green eyes to

glow made her sigh. "I don't think this is a good idea Shell…" She started.

The boy giggled and stood up. He knew he had won. "I'll be careful, I promise!" He grabbed his hesitant sister's hand and pulled her into a standing position. "Come on, come on!" Shell chirped as he dragged Elphaba hand in hand in the direction of

the river.

The river ran through the north east portion of Cowlen Grounds. It was a welcome cool contrast to the day's heat. It ran swift and clear. The water was relatively shallow until you reached the middle. The middle of it was deeper than most grown men are tall. It was around twelve feet wide.

Once the children reached the riverbank, Shell stripped off his shirt. As he was about to run into the water, Elphaba caught his arm. "Little brother, are you sure you can do this? I won't be able to save you myself." The boy nodded eagerly. "Just wait Fabala! I'll show you how much I've learned. I'm practically a fish!"

The green girl chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Alright, but keep in shallow water!" Shell grinned before bolting to the water. He carefully stepped in, letting out a squeel of delight. "It's nice and cold!"

He stood in knee deep water while he adjusted to the temperature.

Elphaba sat down a safe distance away from the river, though she made sure to keep more than close enough to watch Shell. She smiled as he made his way up to his hip. He'd be okay, so long as he stayed where he was comfortable.

"Fabala, look! I'll show you how to swim! You might need it someday, if you ever need to swim through stuff." The young boy crouched in the water and started paddling. It was obvious he still needed to work on his skill, but no one could have mistaken the pride etched across Elphaba's face. "You're doing great little brother!" She exclaimed. Shell looked up am grinned. He paddled around some more, growing confident as he stabilized some.

Elphaba leaned back against the grass and listened to happy splashing noises. It was moments like this that made Cowlen Grounds bearable. Her brother was mostly blind to what went on around him. It was better that way. His sweet innocence was a ray of sunshine in all the darkness surrounding her.

There were some more odd sounding splashes, but Elphaba didn't think much of them. Shell was probably just playing around. However, when she heard gasping and a strangled "'Bala!", her head snapped up. The boy had gotten caught by the current, and was now far deeper than he could touch.

Elphaba's blood ran cold as she watched her brother's head sink under the surface. There was nobody within shouting distance. She stood up. She could run for help, but they wouldn't be able to save him in time. When her brother's head didn't resurface, she knew that moment what she had to do.

Understanding, but not caring about the danger this would put her own life in, Elphaba ran to the river's edge and jumped in.

There was an explosion so loud, it spooked the horses on the other side of the grounds. It awoke a sleeping Nessa, and even called Frexspar's attention away from his meeting, if only for a moment.

The river had completely frozen. As though the green girl's body had known the devastating damage it would have taken otherwise. Elphaba blinked and carefully got to a sitting position. "Sweet Oz..." She was weak after such a powerful spell, but when she saw Shell in a heap on the ice, her fatigue was forgotten. She made her way over to him, slipping a few times.

The boy wasn't breathing. "Shell! Shell, wake up. You need to wake up now." Elphaba said desperately. She cupped his cheek with a trembling hand. "Shell I won't lose you. I can't..." Her voice broke then. Tears streamed down her face, but she was unaware of the burn.

"Please little brother..." She put her head on his chest. There was no heartbeat. "No... No! No, Shell come back Oz Damnit!"

She pounded the ice with her fists.

The world went quiet as it watched the grieving girl. She sobbed and cursed and bloodied her hands until she came up with an idea. "Shell... I'm going to bring you back." She placed her hands on the lifeless chest and started chanting by instinct.

A raven swooped down and landed beside the body and peered up at Elphaba with questioning eyes. "Go away!" She hissed. "Death will not take my brother today." She continued chanting.

Suddenly, the raven grew angry and started screeching at the young girl, then flew away, still screeching. Shell gasped and vomited heave after heave of water before laying still once more. With the last of her energy, Elphaba pulled him to the bank and collapsed.

The grounds keeper found both children still unconscious hours later. He rushed them back to the palace. Clouds had gathered during those hours, and just after they were safely inside, a clap of thunder sounded. The rain followed, pouring just as Elphaba's tears had poured.

It was three days before Elphaba awoke. She was in her bed, in her usual nightgown. Shell was sitting in her chair near the window. He got up and walked over to the bed when he noticed his sister stirring. "Hi Fabala, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"Hungry. How long was I asleep for?"

Shell thought for a moment. "Three days." He finally said. Elphaba shot into a sitting position. "Three days?!" She exclaimed. "Well, you did very powerful magic when you've only ever done it before on accident." He pointed out. Elphaba's face softened.

"Oh, Shell," she threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared I had lost you..." The boy returned his sister's hug.

"You'll never lose me 'bala. I promise! Everything will always work out 'cause we'll always have each other!" Shell chirped.


End file.
